Are the gas prices making you want to exchange your car for a bicycle? Why are gas prices so high? One reason gas prices are so high is, because of conflicts going on in the world. One of the conflicts in the world is located in Nigeria, that have cut exports to the United States. The United States depends so much on oil that when oil prices go up it sparks interest on conserving oil. Since oil is an important part of modern life ,I chose to research oil for my summer assignment. There is a war going on over seas. I am not talking about the one that we are always hearing about in the news, Lebanon and Iraq. I am talking about the conflicts going on in the Nigerian Delta over oil. This little known part of the world is our nations fifth largest supplier. If Americans don’t want to ride bicycles for next century they should keep a closer eye on Nigeria. This conflict has been caused by the Ijaws and other tribes fighting “with each other and the federal government.” (“Double…”) I chose this as my project because this conflict has not been in the news often like other conflicts such as the conflict with Columbia, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and North Korea. This conflict doesn’t seem to bring the media’s attention, but I think the United States should keep a closer eye on Nigeria. I wanted to learn more on this conflict since oil is an important resource in America and through my research felt angered at the Nigerian government for their actions toward the people of Nigeria.
Oil producing countries generate a large portion of their of their revenue from sale of oil. One such country is Nigeria; however the people suffer greatly because the country lives in poverty while the government becomes wealthier. The Ojaws have felt that some of the money produced by oil belongs to Nigeria. Nigerians will not allow the government to steal money that belongs to the people. Nigeria is in danger of being corrupt. When oil is discovered in a country that is “poor, (and) fighting over scraps,” (“Double…”) we would think it would be the end of poverty, but not so with Nigeria. Nigeria “pulls in $14 billion a year in oil revenue.”(“Double…”) I blame the Nigerian government for not putting an end to poverty. Nigeria’s new wealth has been taken by “politicians, in particular by the country’s military, brought to power in the country’s late 1960s civil war,” (“Rough…”) who have been robbing the country’s finance ever since. There is no reason that the people of Nigeria should be poor, because the oil has been found on their land and belongs to the people of Nigeria.
The Ijaws used to be a “easygoing minority tribes, earning their living with other tribes by fishing in canoes harbored in the board delta of the Nigerian River,” (“Rough…”) but that was forty years ago. Most of the country’s production comes from the Nigerian Delta which is now causing violent outbursts. The Ijaws are now destroying pipelines, setting fire to pipelines, protesting, selling oil they steal from pipelines and even kidnapping people. The country is in total chaos. Crime and Violence has caused a “20 percent drop in Nigeria’s oil production” (“Rough…”) which meant “a shortfall of 455,000 barrels daily.” (“Danger”) They have even stepped up their attacks on foreign oil. Even Shell announced an evacuation in February of 2006 to evacuate “an oil platform off its Atlantic coast as a precaution, shutting an additional 115,000 barrels a day.” (“Nigeria…”) In January, “militants held four men- from the United States, Britain, Bulgaria, and Honduras for 19 days before releasing them unharmed.” (“Nigeria…”) Tribes like the Ijaws, that were once peaceful are now armed and have been fighting for years claiming to be fighting “for better distribution of the country’s wealth.” (Mouawad) I was shocked when I found out that even “groups who claim to be fighting for the interests of Niger Delta’s people” (“Militants…”) have actually “evolved into criminal gangs, adept at stealing huge amounts of oil to sell on black markets, the proceeds of which are used to buy ever more sophisticated weapons.” (“Danger…”)
Even though the United States is not involved in the conflict, this conflict does affect the United States. Nigeria is the fifth largest supplier of oil “to the United States, after Mexico, Venezuela, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.” (Mouawad) Almost half of Nigeria’s oil is sent to the United States. Nigerian oil is prized by refiners because “it is of a light, sweet variety that is easier and cheaper to refine that the thicker and sulfur-rich kind that comes from the Middle East and Venezuela.” (Mouawad) Nigeria determines the price of oil in the United States. The United should keep a closer eye on Nigeria if they want to oil prices in America to go down. Nigeria has played an important role Africa and “is crucial to all of West Africa, having provided the military troops and negotiating forums to quell civil war and related violence in neighboring countries.” (“Danger…”) Nigeria has also helped on fighting terrorism by trying to “monitor and defuse an encroaching fundamentalism among its own Muslims.” (“Danger…“) Several American companies haves stakes in Nigeria such as “Mobil, Chevron Texaco and Halliburton.” (“Double…“) In my opinion the United States is not doing anything to stop oil from rising. I believe the United States should be more involved with the conflict in Nigeria.
I was shocked when I found out that everyone that claims to be helping Nigeria are only thinking about themselves leaving everyone in the country to defend for themselves. Oil has ruined Nigeria. The government has betrayed Nigeria from their share of oil. Even the people who took law in to their own hands to take revenge against the government have betrayed the country. The Ijaws who were once a peaceful tribe have evolved into a criminal gang. Meanwhile the rest of the world has done nothing to try and stop chaos. The rest of the world has ignored this conflict for too long, and are now paying the price at the pump. Why is Nigeria living in poverty? When Nigeria brings more than enough revenue to put an end to poverty among its citizens.